English: This figure shows both per capita expenditures on retail prescription drugs in the United States and the distribution of prescription drug spending by payer. The figure also highlights the enactment of both Medicare and Medicare Part D. Prescription drug spending grew from 1960 to 2019. The rate of growth accelerated in the 1980s, slowed down in the mid-2000s, and then accelerated again in 2014. The share of prescription drug spending paid out-of-pocket steadily declined over the period. Following the enactment of Medicare Part D, the share of prescription drug spending paid by Medicare immediately increased.

These data are based on the National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA). Dating back to 1960, the NHEA measures annual U.S. expenditures for health care goods and services, public health activities, government administration, the net cost of health insurance, and investment related to health care. The data are presented by type of service, sources of funding, and type of sponsor. The NHEA data are available for download here:

https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical